I think your work is amazing. Beautiful in fact. I am looking for an illustrator for my website.. I am just beginning. I am a wholistic health counsellor who believes that foods are the answer for a healthy life.
Are you interested?
Best Wishes
Gloria Fox

Hi! I’m doing a project for school (I go to Wellesley College) involving a vertical plant wall and journaling. I was looking for inspiration online when I saw your pages. Thank you for showing them. I’ve gotten a lot of food (and greens) for thought!

Since you didn’t have a new post up….I came in search of your sketch book. These pages are remarkable. I like your garden design and it says…big old tree. I also love how the sunflower turned out and the Comfrey. You are so good!

Hi Val – I discovered you through a link on Joyce McAdams’ newsletter. I’m so glad. I will use your work and your blog as inspiration, together with the techniques I learned from Joyce (see post in my blog). – Sharon

I Love, Love, Love your paintings. What do you usually use for watercolor paints? The colors you use are so vibrant, yet realistic! I have been experimenting with watercolor crayons and pencils., but they are not the same as paints. Botanical painting has always been an attraction to me, but I never could find a class to channel it onto watercolor paper. You have inspired me to find something in the area to get me started!

Thank you so much, Heather! I like to use Prismacolor pencils in a Moleskine sketchbook. The paper is heavy, cream-colored, and oddly slick — at first, I did not really like working on it. But eventually it became a favorite.

I just found your website and have already emailed you twice! But I, too, love this style of journaling. I like what I call the “scrappy” (the word we use in quilting) look of some of your pages where you put watercolor boxes around your drawings. Also your calendars how designs “run” into each other. Is that something you can learn or is it just something that comes to some people?

It’s definitely something you learn. I recommend “saving” examples of designs you like, and then experimenting with incorporating some of those ideas into your own work. I think the main thing is to keep your approach informal, not lining things up. Let some of your elements overlap. Combine drawing, writing and some hand lettering on the same page. Have fun!

Thanks, Maria! It’s colored pencil. I put down a solid, heavy layer in the lighter color — yellow, for example. Then I come back with a darker color (such as brick red) and, using a sharp point, I simply draw crosshatch lines on top of the underlayer. Voila! Textured background. 🙂 Thanks for asking.